Ryu
by Dancho
Summary: Finished TeaSeto romance. Warning: AU, STRONG language and a few sexual references! Based on the move 'You've Got Mail!
1. Leaving home ain't easy

AN: Loosely (key word-loosely) based on the myth of Eros and Psyche and the movie 'You've got Mail'. Basically, a simple AU, though. It's pretty much explained, but a couple of things are a little shady. Seto is 17 and a senior in high school. Ryou (who is more like Bakura, personality-wise, though he does have Ryou moments) is 22 and Mokuba is only 12. Ryou was friends with Seto at the orphanage in Japan until he was adopted and they kept in touch (you know the odd e-card at Christmas and what not). Seto and Mokuba both speak fluent Japanese (though Seto's is a bit better than Mokuba's) and so does Ryou. No one else in the story will speak Japanese, as they are all Americans. Seto will also appear out of character for a bit but that's because he's only dealing with Mokuba, his 'parents' and Ryou. I think that covers most of it, except that this chapter takes place in early July, just after Seto and Mokuba have returned from their annual three-week trip to Japan. Okay. Any questions I will be more than happy to answer, but you have to ask. ^_^  
  
AN 2: All the chapters in this story will be song titles (even is the song has nothing to do with the chapter, the title, at the very least, will). At the end of every chapter I'll put the band that performs the song, for those of you who might be curious.  
  
Chapter 1: Leaving Home Ain't Easy  
  
As the plane from LA to New York City took off a dark haired child pressed his face against the window and peered out into the dark clouds. It wasn't his first plane trip but he loved watching the cars and houses on the ground get really small and finally disappear, almost as much as he loved the tugging sensation he got in his stomach as the plane took off. Glancing at his older brother, who was sitting next to him, he tried to mimic his posture. The older boy was slouching in his seat and was quietly chewing gum to ease the pressure on his ears.  
  
After a minute, the younger boy let out a sigh; he was bored! His foster parents were sitting a few rows ahead of them quietly discussing what they would need to do once they had moved into their new apartment in the city and his brother was trying to sleep. Mokuba didn't want to move to New York. He rather liked LA in fact, but his adopted father's company, KaibaCorp, had decided to move it's head quarters to New York. This meant that their father had to move, dragging the rest of the family with him. Mokuba's adopted mother didn't mind so much as she worked as a translator for KaibaCorp and New York had hundreds of people who spoke French and Spanish which meant that she could practice all day long.  
  
"Are you nervous, Seto?" He asked his older brother.  
  
"Not really, Mokuba." Seto sighed, not bothering to open his eyes.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I'm to tired to care." Seto replied truthfully. "Besides, it doesn't matter anyway. We're already going there and there's nothing we can do. Why bother?"  
  
"Ah." Mokuba nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Mokuba spoke again. "Are you excited about seeing Ryou again?"  
  
"What?" Seto asked, his eyes springing open. Ryou had been Seto's best friend at the orphanage until Ryou had been adopted. They had kept in touch with a few phone calls and the odd e-mail, but they hadn't seen each other in at least seven years. While Seto knew that Ryou was old enough to be considered a legal adult, and spoke perfect English and had probably moved out of his foster parents home by now, he was still surprised that Ryou might be in New York.  
  
"Oh yea. I forgot to tell you." Mokuba laughed guiltily. "A few hours after you had called Ryou to tell him we were moving to New York City, and that we'd have a change of phone number, he returned the call to tell you that he was already living in NYC and would come over to see you in a couple of days."  
  
"He lives there?!" Seto gasped. "He never told me!"  
  
"Well, honestly Seto. You two were never big on telling each other important things like that. He probably figured that since you always call him on his cell phone or e-mail him that his address wasn't very important."  
  
"Humph." Seto grumbled, closing his eyes again. "Anything else you'd like to mention?"  
  
"I'm cold. Can I wear you trench coat?"  
  
"You're already wearing that horrible red and orange sweater you love so much. Why do you need my coat?"  
  
"I'm cold!" Mokuba whined.  
  
"Fine. Fine!" Seto growled giving his brother his coat. "Just shut up!"  
  
"Arigatou, niisan." Mokuba smiled as he wrapped the coat around his shoulder.  
  
"We're not in Japan anymore, Mokuba." Seto whispered harshly. "Talk in English."  
  
"Sorry." Mokuba blushed. Seto frowned; he knew he had hurt Mokuba more than he had meant to. After their parents had died in a car crash shortly after Mokuba's birth, the two brothers had been sent to a foster home until they had been adopted three years later by an American couple. Seto had been nine than and Mokuba had only been four, but they had been sent to live with the couple in LA. Being the only blood family the little boy had ever known, Mokuba had always idolized his older brother, so Seto knew the slightly angry words must have cut deep.  
  
But Seto also knew that speaking Japanese would single them out. He was an American, damnit; he spoke English, had an American passport and even wore American clothes. He didn't need the prejudice that others would feel towards him if he spoke his first language. But his foster parents didn't feel that way at all. In fact, Mr. and Ms. Kaiba sent Seto and Mokuba to Japan ever year to 'keep in touch with their roots'. As a result, the brothers spoke Japanese fluently and Mokuba, being younger and more trusting and naive, occasionally slipped up especially when they had just returned from their annual trip.  
  
Letting out a deep sigh, Seto rolled his eyes and ruffled Mokuba's hair. After all, it wasn't really Mokuba's fault. He didn't seem to feel the same way Seto did about their current situation.  
  
"It's all right." Seto reassured his brother. "Just remember next time."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I'm so tired." Seto groaned as he looked around the apartment. He'd just spent half the day unpacking his few books and clothes and putting them away. He frowned unhappily.  
  
'I must really be getting spoiled. A few years ago, sharing a room with only Mokuba would have seemed wonderfully. Now I want my own room?' Seto shook his head at his own greed. He wandered around the new apartment. His parents had changed the large office on the second floor into their own bedroom and bathroom and Mokuba and Seto had taken the master bedroom on the first floor. There was a kitchen and another bathroom. A living room and of course a small library. Oh and there was a third room on the second floor that had become the laundry room. Seto let out a sigh and flopped down onto the sofa where Mokuba was already channel surfing.  
  
"Anything good?"  
  
"Not really, since I can't download any movies till our Internet connection is up. But there's a soap opera on the Spanish channel." Mokuba offered.  
  
"Bugger that." Seto muttered, as the phone rang and he leaned over to pick it up. 'English may not be my first language,' he thought with a grin. 'But I sure have picked it well.'  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Mr. Kaiba? This is reception. A young man says he wishes to see a Seto Kaiba."  
  
"Does he have a name?" Seto asked with a yawn.  
  
"He say's you know him as Ryou."  
  
"Ryou?" Seto gasped sitting up straight. "Uh, no, don't send him up. Tell him I'll meet him down there."  
  
Hanging up the phone, Seto grabbed his trench coat and hurried to slip on his shoes. Yelling over his shoulder that he'd be back before dinner, Seto pulled on his coat and waited for the elevator doors to open. Walking into the elevator, he pressed the button for the ground floor and waited patiently. Finally, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to show Ryou standing there, wearing a leather jacket, a white shirt and tight-ish jeans. He'd grown his naturally white hair longer and streaked parts of it silver. Ryou smiled broadly and began to speak in rapid Japanese, while draping his arm over Seto's shoulder. Blushing slightly, Seto lowered his gaze and quickly dragged the still chattering Ryou out of the building.  
  
"Listen, Ryou. I don't speak Japanese any more." Seto hissed once they were out of sight.  
  
"Nani?!" Ryou gasped, before quickly changing to English. Ryou reached over and felt his friends' forehead. "Have they changed you into an American idiot so quickly?"  
  
"That's not it." Seto growled. "I can talk it but I just don't. I really don't need the strange looks. I get enough when people find out I'm from Japan or when they find out I'm adopted or that I'm a boarder-line genius or that my father owns KaibaCorp, or when......."  
  
"Oi!" Ryou laughed. "You're so uptight! Jeez man. You seriously need to relax."  
  
"And how do you propose I do that?" Seto asked suspiciously. Even at the orphanage Ryou had been know for his wild sense of fun and relaxation which often got it's participants into a lot of trouble.  
  
"Tonight, I'm going to a club I go to a lot. You should come with me."  
  
"It may have escaped you attention, but I'm too young."  
  
"This is New York! Money can get you anything you want if you know where to look. Besides, I'll get you in free as long as you promise to stay off the booze, cause I don't feel like dragging your sorry, drunken ass home, and explaining that bit to your parents. Uh, I also think a change of clothes is in order."  
Arigatou, niisan - Thank you, older brother Nani?! - What?! Oi! - Hey!  
  
AN3: The title is a song by Queen. 


	2. Dance, Dance, Dance

AN: All right. We're still on the set up. I swear, half way through, I just had to stop and drool. And yes, I do realize that Seto is going to be slightly out of character. The Seto Kaiba we all know and love is coming to us soon. For now, all we get is the development of Ryu, our oh-so-sexy, yet slightly arrogant, partier.  
  
Chapter 2: Dance, Dance, Dance  
  
Wolfing down his food, Seto quickly cleared his place and asked to be excused.  
  
"Is there somewhere you want to go?" Ms. Kaiba asked.  
  
"Actually, Ryou had offered to show me around the city tonight." Seto lied. He didn't lie too often, even though the only one who saw them was Mokuba. "Is that all right?"  
  
"Yes. Sure, Seto." Mr. Kaiba nodded. "Just be back before midnight."  
  
"I will." Seto nodded before hurrying off to the bathroom to change. He finally emerged buttoning up his black trench coat. "I'm leaving."  
  
"Bye, Seto." Mokuba called from the living room. Opting to take the stairs this time, Seto hurried down them and jumped the last three. Hurrying out he found Ryou waiting for him outside.  
  
"You change the clothes?" Ryou asked as they walked down the street. Seto nodded and opened his trench coat to show that he was wearing the black shirt and pants that Ryou had lent him. "Don't button the shirt up all the way up and why didn't you spray your hair?"  
  
"How would I have explained that to my parents?" Seto asked, unbuttoning the top two buttons. Shaking his head with a laugh, Seto pulled out the spray and let Ryou place a few black streaks in his brown hair. "God, I can't believe we're even having this conversation. What are we? Are we really both women? Or perhaps, heaven forbid, we're both turning gay!"  
  
"There's nothing wrong with being gay." Ryou glared, before storming off.  
  
"I'm sorry." Seto quickly apologized after he had caught up with his friend. "I had no idea. Uh, we're not going to a gay club....... are we?"  
  
"Look, I'm bi, all right? And I'm taking you to a straight club. You always were straight as a ruler, even at the orphanage." Ryou laughed. "Now common."  
  
"What is this club called?" Seto asked as they walked down the street.  
  
"Hidden. You'll like it. Loud music, limited lighting; it's a blast. Oh, and if you run into any trouble, tell them you're friends with Bakura."  
  
"Bakura? Who's he?"  
  
"I'm Bakura. It's sort of like a stage name for when I'm there."  
  
"Why would you need a fake name?"  
  
"Hidden isn't know for its....... permissible activities. Drug and underage drinking runs ramped."  
  
"So if it ever got busted, you want to stay on the safe end."  
  
"You got it. Say, with your daddy being so rich and famous, you should probably chose a fake name for yourself."  
  
"I dunno, Ryou. This sounds......." Seto frowned as he stopped walking.  
  
"Illegal? It is. But trust me, even if you get busted, all you have to do is say you didn't know about the pot, give 'em your false name, prove your over 21 or that you haven't been drinking and snorting heroin." Ryou argued as he turned to face Seto.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Come on, Seto!" Ryou shouted, stomping his left foot. "Live a little! Don't be such a baby."  
  
"Okay. Okay."  
  
"Good, now common. It's just down here." Ryou told Seto before leading him down a fairly large, yet dark, alleyway. They came to a large door and Ryou knocked three times and than stamped his foot.  
  
"Who is it?" A voice asked.  
  
"Bakura." Ryou replied quickly. "And I've brought a friend."  
  
The door opened to show a tall blonde woman, dressed in a purple jacket and mini skirt.  
  
"Hello, Valentine, miss me?" Ryou smiled.  
  
"No. Who's the friend?" Valentine asked, nodding towards Seto.  
  
"I'm Ryu." Seto said before Ryou could speak.  
  
"Well, Ryu, let's just get a quick voice scan and you can go in." Valentine smiled before pulling out a microphone and turning it on. "Go on. Just say your name."  
  
"Ryu." Seto said cautiously.  
  
"Well, go on and have fun." Valentine smiled as she opened the door and let them into the already busy nightclub.  
  
"So, what do people do for fun here?" Seto asked.  
  
"What?" Ryou shouted. "I can't hear you!"  
  
"I said, 'What do people do for fun here'!" Seto yelled.  
  
"Oh! We dance!" Ryou laughed. "You remember how to dance, right?"  
  
"Of course I do!"  
  
"Bakura!" A woman shouted, running over to them. She grabbed Ryou's arm and tugged him over to the dance floor. "Common, honey! Let's dance!"  
  
"Have fun!" Ryou waved as he followed the woman. Shrugging, Seto wandered over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools.  
  
"Hey, Ryu." Valentine grinned. "You wanna drink?"  
  
"I'll have a coke."  
  
"I said a drink, not drugs."  
  
"No, I mean coke....... like the soda?"  
  
"Oh, sure. Is Pepsi, all right?"  
  
"Sure. Thank you." Seto smiled as he handed her two dollars.  
  
"Don't you dance?" Valentine asked as she mixed a drink for a girl at the other end of the bar.  
  
"Sure....... I just....... I'm tired." Seto lied.  
  
"Better get some energy quick, 'cause those girls over there is sizing you up."  
  
"Huh?" Seto asked, turning around. There was, indeed, a large group of women looking him up and down.  
  
"I hope you're a good dancer, Ryu." Valentine winked before leaving him to the mercy of the women approaching him.  
  
"Hey there." One of the taller women smiled down at him. "You dance?"  
  
"Do you?" Seto asked with a smirk. "Or should I say, would you like to?"  
  
"Why not?" The woman grinned.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Seto tugged his trench coat tighter and glanced down at his watch. He'd just left the club but he wanted to make sure he still had enough time to get home.  
  
"Hey, Ryu!" Ryou called as he caught up with Seto.  
  
"Huh? Oh, hey....... Bakura." Seto grinned.  
  
"Been hearing some talk about you." Ryou smiled back. "Seems you're quite the favorite."  
  
"I did notice the line. I swear Ry-Bakura. I'm so good; I can dance with whomever I want. So I'm not dancing with the same girl twice." Seto laughed a bit coldly, before buttoning up his trench coat.  
  
"You leaving?"  
  
"Yea. I said I'd be home before midnight and I need to wash this stuff out of my hair."  
  
"You're turning into Cinderella." Ryou joked. "Well, whatever. Don't worry too much about your hair. It washes out immediately upon contact with water, so you'd best be careful if it's raining."  
  
"You got an extra can of that?"  
  
"Sure. I'll bring it tomorrow. Can you make it than?"  
  
"No, I play translator for my dad during the summer, so he likes me to keep school year hours. I can only stay out late on Friday and Saturday nights."  
  
"Whatever. I'll leave it with Valentine. She does that, so you know. She's one of the only bartenders that works from when the club opens to when it closes, so she takes messages and packages for a couple bucks." Ryou explained. "Anyway, see you Friday."  
  
"All right. Bye."  
  
AN2: The title is a song by S Club 7. 


	3. Hello Little Girl

Chapter 3: Hello Little Girl  
  
"Are you sure this is legal, Mai?" The brunette complained.  
  
"No, no I'm not sure this is at all legal. In fact, I know it's not. And I told you; here, my name is Valentine."  
  
"I don't see why you bother." Valentine's friend shrugged.  
  
"Legal reasons."  
  
"Why don't you just stop letting in the underage drinkers and clear out the drugs? It's safer and you don't need to mess with fake names."  
  
"Tea. It's called money." Valentine sighed. "The more drinks I sell, the more money I make. And if people know they can buy and use drugs freely here, more people come....... and the more people buy from my bar. See?"  
  
"You really are such a scrooge, Mai. I mean, Valentine."  
  
"What do you think pays for my clothes, my car and this figure, hon? Not to mention taxes and what not. Life ain't cheap." Valentine argued as she wiped off the bar. She was on bar duty for the whole night, instead of door watch for the beginning half and bar tender for the rest. A few regulars trickled in, then more and more. Soon the club was roaring with life and noise.  
  
"Why'd I let you talk me into this, Valentine?" Tea complained.  
  
"Come on. You were so stressed with the end of summer coming up. Enjoy this last month while you've got it. And then come back on school year weekends. Relax Tea. Nothing will happen."  
  
"I hope so." Tea sighed as Valentine watched the door as more regulars walk in. "In all honesty, the only reason I came with you is that I was bored! What with Yugi always at those sessions to get help with that other side of his and Tristan driving all the way to California to see that car show, you and Joey are the only two people I can talk with. Uh, Valentine? What are you looking at?"  
  
"Over there." Valentine whispered with a nod in the direction of the door. "See the two guys that just walked in?"  
  
"Define see them. Sure I see two human figures, but faces? Not in this light."  
  
"You'll get used to it. Soon you'll be able to identify people by voice and dress, as you'll never see their face in this club. Anyway, watch out for the taller guy. His name's Ryu and he's a brilliant dancer. Thing is, he doesn't dance with the same woman twice."  
  
"Really? So, what's the big deal?"  
  
"Just watch out for him, all right?" Valentine pressed.  
  
"Okay. Okay." Tea promised, before shoving her words to the back of her mind. "I'm gonna go dance."  
  
"Okay. Have fun." Valentine smiled, before going to serve another customer. Walking around the floor, Tea watched some of the regulars dancing. There were swift, intense dances that left the participants drained and weary, and there were wild, passionate dances that moved with an erotic rhythm. Rolling her eyes at one couple, Tea headed over to a deserted corner so she would be out of the way. After a few minuets, she felt a presence behind her and stiffened.  
  
"Hey." A masculine voice whispered in her ear. "You must be new here."  
  
"H-how can you tell?" Tea asked nervously biting her lower lip.  
  
"I've been watching you." The man behind her shrugged. "You got a name?"  
  
"Tea. And you?" Tea asked.  
  
"Ryu."  
  
"I've heard about you."  
  
"That's nice." Ryu whispered. "Would you like to dance?"  
  
'Mai said he never dances with the same woman once, but I'll probably never be back here again, so.......' "Sure." Tea smiled as she moved to turn around.  
  
"No." Ryu commanded. "Let me teach you how to dance. Close your eyes."  
  
"Alright." Tea agreed, closing her eyes. Ryu wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her closer.  
  
"Now listen to the music....... and just move with it." Ryu told her. Listening to the blaring music, Tea felt the pulse of the music travel up her legs and through her body. Bobbing her head to the beat, she felt Ryu guide her. Rocking to the beat of the music and making sure to keep her eyes closed, Tea raised her arms up and began to speed up her movements, till she was moving faster than she had dreamed possible and Ryu was keeping perfect time with her. The song finished and Tea collapsed against Ryu's chest, breathing hard.  
  
"You like that?" Ryu asked gently.  
  
"It was great." Tea grinned. "I've never danced like that before. Can we do that again, or am I stuck with ballet for the rest of my life?"  
  
"I'd love to dance with you for another song, but I have to go home now."  
  
"You don't have to lie or sugar coat the truth. I already know you never dance with the same person twice."  
  
"Is that what you've heard?"  
  
"That, and that you're an incredible dancer. Which you are."  
  
"So are you." Ryu sighed, before gently kissing Tea's neck gently. "When will you be back here?"  
  
"Next Friday. But why do you ask?"  
  
"Let's just say, sometimes....... I like to do the unexpected. See you Friday." Ryu whispered before kissing her neck again.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
"Yes?" Ryu asked over the new song that had just started.  
  
"How will I know you?"  
  
"Don't worry. I'll find you. And keep your eyes closed." Ryu laughed in her ear before leaving. Tea's eyes snapped open and she turned around in hopes of finding her dancing partner, but he had already disappeared. Slightly dazed, Tea wandered over to the bar and found a seat.  
  
"Tea?" Valentine asked. "Tea?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, hey."  
  
"Are you all right? You look sort of spaced out."  
  
"I'm....... I'm fine."  
  
"Did you get too close to the druggie's corner?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Than what happened? Honestly girl, you're starting to scare me."  
  
"Sorry. Ryu just danced with me is all."  
  
"Tea! I told you to stay away from him!"  
  
"I did; he came to me. And he said we'd dance again."  
  
"He's just playing with you, you know that. He never dances with the same woman twice."  
  
"I know. But it'd still be nice." Tea smiled.  
  
"Dear God woman." Valentine sighed, giving her friend a Pepsi. "You just stay here and I'll call Joey. He'll take you home and you can sleep off whatever drugs you managed to get into your system."  
  
"Okay." Tea nodded, still not listening. Closing her eyes, she imagined Ryu's voice and touch.  
  
'You must be new here.'....... 'I've been watching you.'....... 'Don't worry. I'll find you. And keep your eyes closed.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ryu?" Ryou called to his friend. "You're leaving a bit earlier than usual. Your curfew get tightened?"  
  
"No, I just don't really feel like dancing anymore tonight."  
  
"Oh. Well, all right than." Ryou shrugged. Hurrying out of the club, Seto ran his hands through his streaked hair.  
  
'Jeez!' He thought. 'She was beautiful, and she was an amazing dancer, but what possessed me to ask her to dance next Friday? I have a record; a motto! I'm well known! Not to mention, I have a reputation to uphold! But NOOO! I have to go and chose to dance with her next Friday! Why?!  
  
'So she's beautiful. But she wasn't looking for me and she's nice but not too nice. UGH! Stop this, Seto! Pull yourself together! Fine! Whatever happens happens. Besides, Tea might be a lot of fun.'  
AN: The title is a song by the Beatles. 


	4. Hide

Chapter 4: Hide  
  
"Hey, Tea." Seto whispered in Tea's ear, his breath tickling her neck.  
  
"Oh! Ryu, you scared me."  
  
"You didn't think I'd be back, did you?"  
  
"No. But I kept my eyes closed for you."  
  
"So I see."  
  
"Humph. Of course you can, but I can't! How come you can see my face but I can't see yours?"  
  
"I like it better this way."  
  
"Well, I don't! Are you hiding from someone or something?"  
  
"Perhaps. Listen, just trust me, all right? It's best if you don't know who I am."  
  
"Humph. What are you hiding?!"  
  
"Who says I'm hiding anything?"  
  
"I do! You're just like everyone else here. Hiding in the shadows and behind fake names."  
  
"Who said my name was false? Is yours?"  
  
"Well....... no."  
  
"Then why does mine have to be?"  
  
"I still say you're hiding."  
  
"All right. So maybe I am. Can we just drop it and dance?"  
  
"Fine." Tea shrugged her lips forming a smile. He pulled her closer as a slower song started to play.  
  
"Why are you dancing with me again?" Tea asked, resting her head on Seto's shoulder. "Don't you have a reputation to keep up?"  
  
"I told you. I like to surprise people."  
  
"Then I'll bet you're full of surprises."  
  
"Yep. My brother tells me that a lot."  
  
"Your brother?"  
  
"Yes. My older brother." Seto lied.  
  
"Tell me more about yourself. Just so I know you're not hiding."  
  
"Well. There isn't much to tell really." Seto shrugged. "I mean, what do you want to know?"  
  
"Where are you from?"  
  
"New York City. Never left the state in my life."  
  
"Funny. You haven't got a real heavy accent."  
  
"I don't know many people who do."  
  
"Oh. And what about your brother? Is he your only brother? What's his name? How old is he?"  
  
"Yes. It's just me and my older brother. He's 24, well, almost 25."  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
"Haruko."  
  
"It's pretty." Tea smiled. "Is he nice?"  
  
"I suppose. Sometimes we fight, but it's never very often and he's off at a different college now. I don't really see him too much."  
  
"Do you miss him?"  
  
"Yea." Seto sighed. 'JEEZ! I can't believe these lies I'm telling. I haven't said a single true word since we started dancing.  
  
"So do you work? Or go to school?"  
  
"I'm still in college."  
  
"I'll bet your parents miss you."  
  
"I very much doubt that."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"I live with them, since I'm attending college in state."  
  
"Oh. I thought they were dead."  
  
"Not yet." Seto rolled his eyes. 'Still lying, aren't you Seto. Jeez, she's gonna be mad when she finds out the truth.' "Then she won't."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Oh....... nothing." Seto lied again, mentally kicking himself for saying those words out loud. "Oh, hey! It's a fast song!"  
  
Turning her around so that her back was pressed against his chest, Ryu began to lead Tea again. Throwing her head back, Tea pressed her body closer to Seto's. Dancing closer and closer, Seto soon became very aware of a growing problem. It was almost midnight. (What the heck did you think it was? HENTAI!!)  
  
'SHIT! I'm just a fucking Cinderella, aren't I?' He raged at himself. 'Just fuckin' shit! I've got to go but I don't want to! I think I could cry.'  
  
"Ryu?" Tea asked, as the song stopped. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Fine." Seto growled, not wanting to leave just yet. "Just....... tired."  
  
"We can go sit down if you'd like. We can just....... talk."  
  
"That's be....... good." Seto smiled; he still had a few minutes, right? Escorting her over to the group of the small tables in the back, Seto found one that wasn't being used by drug dealers or users and helped Tea sit down. "Remember, don't open your eyes."  
  
"I won't, I won't. A little faith please. I just let you direct me halfway across the club with no idea where I was going! Trust isn't a one way street, you know."  
  
"Okay. Okay. Well, it's too dark over here to see anything but the nose on your face, so if you want you can open your eyes." Seto smirked.  
  
"Not much of a point, is there?" Tea asked, but let her eyes open anyway. "Wow, you really can't see anything can you?"  
  
"I think that's how the druggies like it." Seto shrugged, though no one could see it.  
  
"Probably. Ryu?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Will you be staying here much longer tonight?"  
  
"No." Seto quickly decided. "I don't think so. In fact I should probably go now."  
  
"Oh. I guess you never stay long do you? Will I....... dance with you again?"  
  
"Sure, but I can only come on Fridays and Saturdays."  
  
"That's fine. I'll try and be here tomorrow. I like you Ryu."  
  
"I like you too, Tea."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Seto! Seto!" Mokuba shouted in his brother's ear.  
  
"Nani?!" Seto gasped, sitting straight up in bed. "Nan desu ka?! Who died? Where's the fire? Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine." Mokuba said, between fits of giggles. "You're so funny!"  
  
"Ugh! Mokuba! What time is it anyway?"  
  
"It's our first day of school in New York, Seto!"  
  
"It's three in the morning, Mokuba. Go back to bed."  
  
"I'm too excited to sleep." Mokuba exclaimed bouncing on his bed. "Aren't you excited? Huh? Huh, Seto? Huh?!"  
  
"I'll be excited when there's natural light starts coming through our window." Seto groaned, rolling over.  
  
"Come on, Seto!" Mokuba cried.  
  
"Fuck it, Mokuba! Shut the hell up or I'll smack you so hard you'll need surgery just to wake up!" Seto roared. Mokuba stopped bouncing for a second.  
  
"You shouldn't use words like that." Mokuba snickered.  
  
"AGH!" Seto screamed into his pillow, before chucking it across the room.  
  
"Is that all you've got?" Mokuba laughed, as he launched himself at Seto, pillow in hand. Rolling off the bed, Seto fell to the floor and garbed Mokuba around the waist.  
  
"Come 'ere, you little twerp!" Seto growled, as he began to tickle Mokuba.  
  
"Ah!" Mokuba laughed, before he regained control of his body and began to pound his brother with his pillow. "Please! Stop....... Seto!"  
  
"Say uncle!" Seto laughed, still tickling his brother.  
  
"Uncle." Came a chilling voice from the door. Sitting up straight the boys turned to see their adopted mother standing at the door.  
  
"Err......." Seto began.  
  
"What are you two doing?!" Ms. Kaiba ranted. "At three in the morning no less!"  
  
"Sorry." Seto and Mokuba mumbled in unison.  
  
"Now. Not another sound until at least six, or I'm kicking both of you out until dinner time. In your PJ's!" Ms. Kaiba threatened before turning on her heals and marching upstairs. The brothers sat in silence for a few minutes.  
  
"I told you to stop." Mokuba hissed.  
Nani?! - What?! Nan desu ka? - What is it?  
  
AN: Chapter title is by Creed. 


	5. Cannot Hide

AN: Okay so we meet Yugi, Tristan and Joey in this chapter. WARNING: Joey is going to have a VERY heavy New Yorker accent. I'm writing it out, though I know it won't be very good and spell check will hate me forever after this. Anyway, try to read it even though I'm pretty much fudging it. (like my German homework!)  
  
Helpful hints: Th usually becomes a d. ' usually implies a single missing letter, though sometimes it could be two or a whole sound. (I've tried to keep it down to a single letter though.)  
  
Chapter 5: Cannot Hide  
  
Most people fought tooth and nail against moving to a new high school just before senior year, but Seto had loved the idea. He hadn't had any friends in LA and everyone there knew exactly who he was. In New York City, you could just get lost in the sea of people.  
  
Seto let his tired eyes travel up the large exterior of his new high school. It definitely larger and grander than his last one, but he couldn't say he cared. He was too tired to give much of a damn about anything short of death. Walking into the building, Seto want to the office and signed a few last minute transfer papers before going to his homeroom. Smiling slightly to himself, Seto pulled out the schedule the school had sent him in the beginning of August.  
  
"Homeroom is room 234 with Ms. White." Seto read quietly to himself as he navigated the halls. "First period is Level 5 Japanese with Mr. Bair. Good, at least I get to start with an easy class. Um, second period is AP Euro with Ms. Young. Then standard twelfth grade English with Mr. Benzinger. Level three Spanish with Ms. Lane, which is followed by Physics with Ms. Wharton. Advanced computer science with Mr. Gibbs and the day ends with Calculus. What a horrible day."  
  
Looking up to check the room numbers, Seto found himself inches from another body and unable to stop.  
  
"WOAH!" The other boy yelled as they crashed into each other and fell to the floor. The blonde rubbed his back and groaned. "'Ey! Watch where you're goin'!"  
  
"Why don't you?!" Seto snapped, angrily. Picking himself up from the ground, he rubbed his head tiredly and mentally promised himself a long, pleasant, nap upon his return home.  
  
"'ey, bastard! Why dontcha apologize?" The boy asked with his heavy New Yorker accent.  
  
"Why should I?" Seto asked without turning around. He finally made it to homeroom where he found his seat, folded his arms on the desk and lay his head down to take a nap.  
  
"Can ya believe it? 'E treated me like dirt!" A boy complained, walking into the classroom. Seto groaned and buried his face in his arms.  
  
"It was probably just as much your fault as his, Joey." Another boy laughed.  
  
"'E's still a bastard dough."  
  
"Did you say sorry?" A girl asked. Seto tried to go to sleep but the voices were coming closer and getting louder.  
  
"'ll, no, not really."  
  
"Nice set of double standards you got there."  
  
"Shuddup Tristan."  
  
"Will you all please......." Seto growled, sitting up to face the three boys and the girl. The blonde boy turns to look at him and Seto recognized him as the boy from the hall. "Never mind."  
  
"'Ey guys. Lookie 'ere! It's my friend 'rom de 'allway."  
  
"He must be new." The tall brunette grinned.  
  
"Yea." The shorter blonde agreed. "I've never seen him around here before. Hey! My name's Yugi Motou."  
  
"I'm Tea Gardner!" The girl smiled. Seto stared at her.  
  
'Tea?! Oh shit! It's her! And after all those lies you told her at the club. Oh, she'll love that.'  
  
"Go away." Seto growled, his eyes narrowing defensively. "I don't want to talk to any of you."  
  
"Common man!" The blond insisted. "Dat's no way to treat my friends. Now, look 'ere. My name's Joey, and diss 'ere's Tristan. Now we say ''ey!' and you say......."  
  
"Fuck off." Seto growled, before dropping his head back down onto the table.  
  
"Uh, I've got to go to homeroom now." Tea excused herself quickly.  
  
"Common, Joey. He isn't worth killing." Tristan sighed as he dragged his friend out of the room.  
  
"You should really try and be nicer to people." The short kid muttered, sitting down in front of Seto.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Sitting down."  
  
"I can see that. Why are you sitting there?"  
  
"Cause you're new. I bet you don't have any friends in town yet."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, I'll be your friend. Joey's a nice guy once you get to know him."  
  
"I don't want to 'get to know him'. I don't want to get to know any of you." Seto growled. "And for your information, I already have as many 'friends' as I need."  
  
"If that's how you feel." Yugi shrugged before turning around and filling out the student attendance forms that Seto was busy ignoring.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Walking out of first period, Seto made his way to his history class on the first floor. Walking in, he groaned when he saw that seats were already assigned and he was sitting next to a T. Gardner.  
  
"Hurry up and find your seats." A teacher, presumably Ms. Young, shouted. Seto found his seat and put his backpack down next to his seat. "On your desks you will find the syllabus and other random papers you will need for this class. Read through them if you'd like or you could just wait till we get to them and we'll go through them together. All right then. We'll just go through the role before starting our first lesson. Is everyone here?"  
  
"I'm not." A kid in the back of the class shouted, causing some of the other students to giggle.  
  
"Yes. Yes, Mr. Garrett. I do recognize you from previous classes. In fact the only one of you I don't remember is....... Mr. Kaiba."  
  
"I just moved here." Seto shrugged.  
  
"Oh really? From where?"  
  
"LA."  
  
"Well, I'm glad you're here with us." Ms. Young smiled before returning to her lesson. Seto pulled out a piece of paper and, in a futile effort to remain awake, began listing reasons that the color blue was better than the color gray.  
  
"Hey. New boy!" The kid behind Seto whispered, after poking him in the back with a pencil. "You're really from LA?"  
  
"Of course I am, you idiot." Seto hissed.  
  
"Will you two shut up?" Tea asked.  
  
"Why don't you?" Seto asked.  
  
"At least I'm tr-" Tea began, before a shadow fell across her desk.  
  
"Ms. Gardner? Is there something you'd like to tell us?" Ms. Young asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then perhaps you can answer my question. In what year did William the Conquer conquer England?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You should listen in class, as I just told you the correct answer. Please leave my class until tomorrow as you obviously don't feel the need to be here. Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"  
  
"The answer is 1066, and you shouldn't send Gardner out since she was telling me to shut up."  
  
"Really? Then perhaps you would like to leave?"  
  
"As you said, I obviously don't need to be here, since I can afford to talk." Seto shrugged before grabbing his backpack and leaving the class.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
After plodding through the rest of his classes, Seto finally walked into his calculus class.  
  
"Hey, Kaiba." Tea called as she walked in the door. "I'm glad we have another class together."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Oh, uh, you forgot your papers in Euro and you missed the homework that's due tomorrow." Tea whispered before handing him the bunch of papers. "And I wanted to thank you for bailing me out in Euro. Not everyone would have done that for a stranger."  
  
'But you're not a stranger to me.' Seto thought before shrugging and looking the other way.  
AN: Chapter title by A-Ha. 


	6. Confusion

Chapter 6: Confusion  
  
"And den he 'ad da nerve ta call me an idiot! I 'ate dat new kid!" Joey ranted to Tristan. Shaking his head, Tristan flipped the page to look at the high-powered engines. "Is dat all ya can do? Shake ya 'ead?"  
  
"Look, Joey. You aren't a whiz at English. You don't even speak it properly."  
  
"Shuddup." Joey huffed. "At least I didn't fail my freshman year."  
  
"Go to hell. Oh, hey. Look at this." Tristan grinned, pointing to a restored '50's convertible. "I saw some of these in California. You can't beat 'em."  
  
"Must have a engine 'rom 'ell. I wouldn' wanna clean it."  
  
"Sure, but they drive like a dream." Tristan grinned. "I'd love one of these babies, but all I've got is my two feet."  
  
"All ya can use in dis city, man. Roads 're 'oo full ta e'en dink 'bout drivin' in. Oh, 'ey Tea."  
  
"Hey girl." Tristan waved. "Hey Yugi. Joey and I were just gonna leave for the shop. Either of you wanna come?"  
  
"No. I can't." Yugi apologized. "I've got an appointment today."  
  
"And I have to go home, but I'll walk with you to your appointment, if you'd like. It's on my route anyway." Tea offered and Yugi nodded. Shrugging, Joey and Tristan waved and walked off to 'the Shop'-their favorite place, after the arcade.  
  
"I wish they'd get their heads out of those cars for once." Tea sighed as she and Yugi walked in the other direction.  
  
"You know them. And now that Tristan can drive, he's busy saving up for a car of his own."  
  
"Like he could drive it anywhere. Hell, my family doesn't even own a car. No point."  
  
"Same deal for mine. Oh, look. It's that new kid, Kaiba." Yugi sighed pointing to the other side of the street.  
  
"He's so strange. I ended up sitting next to him in Euro and when I got in a bit of trouble, he took the blame and got sent out of the room."  
  
"Really? Joey made him sound like an asshole."  
  
"Joey can make anyone sound like an asshole." Tea shrugged. "But he was pretty rude today."  
  
"Well at least he knows how to be nice. If he didn't he probably would have let you get in trouble all by yourself."  
  
"True." Tea frowned. "That is true."  
  
Yugi and Tea continued their walk in silence, each think their own thoughts. Finally Yugi reached his counselors building and Tea continued her walk home on her own. She thought about everything from clothes to cars to Yugi's split personality issues, but her mind continued to return to the enigma that was Seto Kaiba.  
  
'That's it.' She decided with a sigh as she got on the subway. 'I'll just have to look into it or it will never leave me alone.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, Seto. How was school?" Ms. Kaiba asked her oldest son as they ate dinner.  
  
"Fine. Loved it." Seto lied as he shoveled his spaghetti into his mouth. Wincing, he kicked Mokuba back and shot his little brother a look.  
  
"Liar." Mokuba hissed under his breath.  
  
"Shut up." Seto hissed back before asking to be excused. Clearing his place, Seto walked into the kitchen and put his things in the dishwasher before returning to his room to do his homework.  
  
"So?"  
  
"Why don't you go watch a movie, Mokuba?"  
  
"Because you lied. Why'd you lie?"  
  
"Why worry them?" Seto asked as he took his textbooks out of his backpack and spread out his homework papers.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Nothing. Nothing happened."  
  
"You're lying again."  
  
"Get over it."  
  
"Tell me!"  
  
"I got sent out of my second period class today. I knocked some kid down in the hall and now he and all his friends are going out of their way to make my life hell except for one girl who's bound and determined to make me her friend! Okay? Happy?!"  
  
"No need to yell."  
  
"No need to pry! Why don't you just mind your own buisness, Mokuba?!" Seto shouted. He watched as his Mokuba's began to water until he ran out of the room crying. Rubbing his forehead, Seto mentally kicked himself for raising his voice. "Great. Now, not only do I feel bad, but they're going to yell at me for screaming at him."  
  
"SETO!" His father yelled. Grumbling to himself he walked into the kitchen and glared at his father and mother. His father released Mokuba from his hug and let the younger boy go into the living room to watch television. "Look, Seto. We know that this move is hard on you but that's no reason to yell at your brother or lie to us."  
  
"Yea. Yea." Seto muttered with a shrug. "Like I care what you all think."  
  
"Seto!" His mother exclaimed. "Don't take that tone of voice with us. We're just worried about you. Have you even made any new friends?"  
  
"No. And I don't need them. All they do is beg help from you or borrow money or expect things from me."  
  
"Seto. I know we're all crabby due to this move but......."  
  
"This move? This move?! You think this is about the move? Get real! This is about me being me! He's the genius, ask him to do your homework. He's the rich boy, beg money off him. He's the foreign kid. He's not an American. Ha. Ha. Does he even understand English?" Seto screamed. "I don't need that bullshit! Not from anyone at school or those jackasses from the company or you two! Don't act like you understand me or know what I'm feeling! You lot don't know jack shit! Hell, you don't even speak my native language!"  
  
Turning on his heels, he grabbed his trench coat from the peg by the door and stormed out of the apartment.  
  
"I'm sure it's just a stage." Mr. Kaiba tried to reassure his wife.  
  
"I hope so. I'm worried about him. He's so smart, I'd hate for him to waste it all on a few mood swings." Ms Kaiba sighed as she walked over to the door and softly closed it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Seto?" Mokuba called as the front door creaked open and slammed shut. Getting up from his place at the table, Mokuba watched his older brother stomped into their room and came back out a few minutes later in a different set of clothes. "Do you want some breakfast?"  
  
"Not hungry." Seto muttered, as he straightened his trench coat and shoved a couple textbooks into his backpack along with his unfinished homework.  
  
"Where were you all night?"  
  
"Don't remember."  
  
"Did you sleep at all last night?"  
  
"I don't recall. Might, might not, have"  
  
"Where are you going? It's way too early for school." Mokuba called as his brother headed for the door.  
  
"Not sure. Don't care." Seto shrugged as slung the pack over his shoulder and reached for the doorknob.  
  
"What should I tell mom and dad?!" Mokuba cried in desperation.  
  
"Don't wait up. I'll be back when I feel like it."  
AN2: Chapter title is by Alice in Chains. 


	7. School Days

Chapter 7: School Days

"Good morning class. If you would please start the drill and I'll come around to collect the homework." Ms. Young smiled. Pulling out a piece of paper, Seto grabbed a pencil and began to copy down the questions. "Mr. Kaiba. Do you have your homework?"

"No." Seto shrugged.

"Do you mean that you didn't understand it, you lost it or did you just not bother to do it?"

"I didn't bother."

"May I speak with you outside?"

"Sure. It's your class." Seto shrugged as he followed Ms. Young outside.

"Mr. Kaiba, I know you are new here and I've read your profile."

"Profile?"

"Yes. Past records, previous school listings, etc." Ms. Young explained. "Anyway, I'm aware that English is not your first language, so perhaps you were not aware that I expect you to do all homework I hand out. Or perhaps you were never informed?"

"I understand English perfectly." Seto said stiffly. "I simply didn't do the homework you assigned."

"Why didn't you do it, Mr. Kaiba? I know your work capacity is extremely high for someone your age, so why don't you use it?"

"Just say it. I'm a bloody genius. Now look, I don't need this…...... I don't…...... I…......" Seto began and stopped as if searching for the right words.

"Speak you mind, Mr. Kaiba. I can't help if I don't understand what you mean."

"Fine. I don't need this language barrier and genius bullshit from you or anyone. So just keep what you know to yourself and mark me down for not doing the work. I don't care as long as no one else knows what's on my profile." Seto sniffed disdainfully, before turning on his heels and walking back inside.

"Mr. Kaiba!" Ms. Young shouted after him, but he ignored her and simply sat down to finish his drill. "Mr. Kaiba!"

"I told you I don't care. Now please, let me do your drill." Seto glared at her before focusing back on his drill.

And so the week continued. Seto continued to stay out at night and return to school with doing his homework, though he did all his schoolwork and came to every class. By the end of the week, most of his teachers ignored his lack of homework and simply gave him zero's instead of bothering him for work they knew he had not done. Only Ms. Young continued to hound him for homework. On Friday, she even asked to speak with him after class.

"Mr. Kaiba…......"

"Is this about my lack of homework?"

"Yes. Why is there a lack of it? Your grades are suffering!"

"I honestly don't know why you are pushing this. I don't care. Why should you?" Seto asked quickly. Sending Ms. Young a final, chilling glare, he turned sharply and left the room.

"She's right you know." Tea told him from her place next to the doorway. Ignoring her, he continued to walk to his next class and Tea hurried to follow him. "Why don't you do your homework? You're obviously smart enough."

Suddenly, Seto stopped in the middle of the busy hallway and turned to face her.

"Gardner, why the hell do you care? Listen to me. Just because I helped you out that one time doesn't mean we're friends, all right? Now, what do you want? No, don't bother. I don't care what you want from me. Simply bugger off and leave me be." Seto glared, before continuing down the hall and out the front doors onto the streets of New York.

"_Kaiba_!" Tea cried after him. "_Kaiba_!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Strolling down the street, Seto finally found himself at Times Square.

"How could I have walked so far?" Seto asked himself. Walking a bit farther, Seto heard a familiar voice talking with an unfamiliar voice. "Aww, shit! Why'd dad have to come here today of all days?"

Hiding his face, Seto quickly lost himself in the crowds of Times Square and continued on his way.

"Oi! Seto!" Another familiar voice shouted.

"Ryou?" Seto asked, turning to face his friend. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Going to work."

"Shouldn't you be there already?" Seto asked glancing at his watch. It was 10:50.

"I have flex time. As long as I work forty hours a week, they don't care when or how often I come in. Now, shouldn't you be in school?" Ryou asked as they started walking through the square together.

"Well, I made it through homeroom, along with first and second period, but I just couldn't take it after that. So I walked."

"Are you sure that was smart?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know. Look, I'll just go home and sort this out by myself. You need to go to work, so I won't take any more of your time." Seto shrugged before turning to go.

"Whoa! Wait just a second." Ryou called as he grabbed Seto's arm. "I told you I have flex time. I usually wrack up some overtime anyway. I only have to work for two hours today. Do you want to talk about this?"

"Not really."

"Well, too bad. You look terrible and I need some coffee anyway. You're coming with me."

"Ryou!" Seto protested as his friend stubbornly dragged him down a few streets and into a fairly busy Starbucks. "I don't need your help or pity or advice or…......"

"Seto. Shut up." Ryou commanded, before turning back to the clerk behind the counter. "I'll have latte with whipped cream and he'll have a straight black coffee."

"Okay." The clerk smiled before leaving Seto and Ryou to talk.

"So, what ticked you off so bad that you walked out of school?"

"Teachers. Students. The lot pissed me off."

"Oh yea? What happened?"

"I got to second period and the teacher got on my case about my homework record or lack thereof. Then this chick got on my case about it. I don't need any false friends—people who only want to be friends with me because they want something from me and not because of what I'm like."

"Why aren't you doing your homework?" Ryou asked, ignoring the last few comments. "You always took school so seriously."

"I haven't really been home in a few days."

"What is that supposed to mean? Did you turned homeless on me?"

"No. I just keep getting in fights with the folks. I just end up storming out and staying out all night."

"Seto, you are such an ass." Ryou sighed as he grabbed his latte.

"Well, what do you want from me? People think they know me, and if they aren't pretending to know me they're using me or they act like I'm a fool. I don't need any of them or their biased attitudes, so I shut them out."

"Oh, you baka." Ryou laughed. "You're so edgy. Look, why don't you go back to school and tonight you should come to the club. You always seem happier after a night there and you can see that girl of yours again, which you always seem to enjoy. Hey, are you screwing her?"

"_No_, not that that is any of your business. Well, I suppose I should go to the club tonight to relax." Seto snorted. "And I suppose I should go back to school. Dad will be mad if he knows I skipped school today and the last thing I need is another fight. Thank you for your advice, though."

"Your welcome, but it really isn't a big deal." Ryou smiled. "It just helps that I could use this as an excuse to see my favorite clerk again."

"Only you, Ryou." Seto laughed as he tossed a five down on the table and left to return to school.

Baka- fool/idiot

AN: Chapter title by AC/DC.


	8. Mystery to Me

Chapter 8: Mystery To Me

"Kaiba!" Tea smiled as she came into their seventh period class. "I'm so glad you came back."

"Came back? I never left." Seto lied, glaring at her.

"But I saw…......" Tea began. Leaning forward, Seto roughly flicked her wrist with finger and she fell quite, startled.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" Seto hissed. "Get me in trouble?"

"Oh." Tea winced finally catching on. "Well, uh, it must have been somebody else."

"Must have been." Seto nodded shortly before returning to the drill. Taking her seat in the back of the class, Tea pulled out her homework and quickly shot a glance at the back of Seto's head.

'What is his problem?' Tea asked herself. 'He's so moody! This morning he looked like he could kill someone and storms out of the school after yelling at me about not being my friend. And what's the deal with his lack of homework? It is not like he can't do it, so why doesn't he? Moreover, he's way too paranoid. Always acting like the world is out to get him. Well, I suppose I should be glad he's showing any emotions at all. Usually he just glares at you and insults you with that cold, harsh tone of his. It's like he's hiding something. What is it with guys and hiding things? Kaiba's hiding something. Ryu's hiding something. Oh! That reminds me! I get to meet Ryu again tonight! I do believe I've begun to miss him.'

And with that, Tea's thoughts turned to Ryu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello." Seto muttered as he passed his father.

"Seto, I…...... I wanted to apologize for yelling at you last night. I had no right."

"It's all right." Seto shrugged, as he went into his room and began to change. Pulling on his trench coat, he spun around as Mokuba came in.

"Seto? Where are you going?" Mokuba asked.

"Out." Seto mumbled while quickly buttoning his trench coat.

"In those clothes? Where did you even get them?"

"It doesn't matter!" Seto hissed, before quickly streaking his hair with black. 

"Why do you have to go out? You're never here, big brother! We don't even talk anymore." Mokuba whined.

"I'll be back before midnight and we'll talk, at the very least. I promise." Seto sighed as he walked over to Mokuba and bent down to look his brother in the eye. Smiling slightly, he ruffled Mokuba's hair and this caused Mokuba to smile back. "Later."

"Bye." Mokuba whispered with a frown as he watched his brother run through the dining room and out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He's so strange." Tea admitted to Mai, as she helped behind the bar before the club opened.

"I can't say I can help you." Mai shrugged. "Men confuse me just as much as they confuse you, and this boy of yours seems to be a bit nuts."

"Not nuts, just guarded or skeptical." Tea defended Seto. "He's also really smart…...... but he doesn't try."

"I think Tea has a little crush." Mai teased.

"I don't know!" Tea moaned. "Maybe I do, but I don't know him at all!"

"I didn't know Joey when I took up with him." Mai shrugged. "Heck, the only think I knew about him was that he could fix my car and looked damn good! That's what dating is, you know. Getting to know the guy."

"But I'm not sure I want to get to know him. He seems to hate me." Tea sighed. "And then he'll turn around and do something no one would ever expect."

"Such as?"

"He took the hit for me once and ended up getting sent out of class."

"So he's a gentleman."

"A foreign gentleman." Tea winked, causing Mai to laugh. "Okay, so not so foreign. But he did just transfer from LA."

"Really? So you're in love with a LA gangster, huh?"

"I am not in love with him!" Tea yelled, emphasizing each word by smacking Mai with her dishtowel. "How can I even like him when he hates me. Not to mention, I do like Ryu a whole lot better."

"Ah. Now I see." Mai sighed dramatically. "Whatever shall Tea do? How can she choose between her two loves. Will it be Ryu or…...... What is the boy from schools name? You never did tell me that."

"His name is Kaiba. Seto Kaiba."

"Seto Kaiba?!" Mai gasped. "You never mentioned that!"

"Is that important?"

"Yes! Ever heard of KaibaCorp?"

"Isn't that the name of a technology company?"

"Yes. And a fabulously wealthy one at that."

"You think Kaiba's a relation?"

"Think? I know! You see, even when I was about fourteen or fifteen, KaibaCorp was a major company. So of course, it was big news when one of the wealthiest couples in America, perhaps even the world, decided to adopt a boy from Japan. They ended up getting two brother because the eldest would not be separated from his younger brother and the Kaiba's were touched."

"So, Kaiba was one of the boys?"

"The oldest. I think the younger brother's name was Moke? Moku? Something like that."

"Wow. I had no idea."

"Most people don't. They dropped out of the media after a few days and only the parents have really been mentioned since, so most people don't even know the Kaiba's have two sons. I only remember because one of my friends was going through an Japanese kick at the time and was completely obsessed with the story."

"So Kaiba is really from Japan. I wonder why he was so adamant about being from LA. Say, you wouldn't have any pictures of him, would you?"

"No, I wasn't even really into the story anyway, so I don't even remember what color hair he has…..... or had."

"Oh well." Tea shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten. Time to meet the hansom Ryu, is it?" Mai teased as she went over to the door to let in the first few customers and one of the bouncers.

"Stop that." Tea muttered before going over to a corner to wait for Ryu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hurrying into the club, Seto blinked a few times while allowing his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. When they were used to the dim light of the club, Seto quickly searched for Tea and found her, standing in their usual corner, with her eyes closed.

"Hey." He whispered in her ear.

"Ryu!" Tea smiled. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Seto admitted. "Come on. Let's dance."

"Uh, could we not? My feet are so tired."

"Okay. Should we sit down and talk?"

"No. Let's just stand."

"But you said you feet hurt. Are you trying to get rid of me and my two left feet?"

"You're a wonderful dancer and you know that. I just…......"

"You just?"

"Oh, I don't know! I'm so lonely, Ryu!"

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't got many close friend—you know, the kind you can really talk to—and it seems that these days I can't even talk to my close friends. Joey and Tristan are always at the garage, and Yugi is always at his therapists."

"His therapists?"

"Yugi has a split personality disorder. His second personality is really violent and horrible, but I don't really mind. Yugi's so nice and I've only meet his second personality a few times. His second personality only comes out when Yugi is really angry or scared but unfortunately it doesn't leave until someone can calm Yugi down. The only way he can attend regular school is if he sees a therapist twice a week and keeps his second personality suppressed during school."

"Oh. I see. I had no idea." Seto nodded. "Uh, keep going."

"Well, anyway. It just seems that they're always busy and the only person I can talk to is Mai but even she's busy most of the time."

"Don't worry." Seto soothed. "You've got me to talk to now."

"I know. And I know I can trust you, can't I, Ryu?"

"You can trust me."

"Because you would never lie to me." Tea smiled.

"No, I'd never lie to you." Seto frowned. 'Even though that, in itself, is a lie. Great job, Seto. Lie to her again! You know, this _would_ be an excellent time to tell her the truth, but are you? NO! I can't believe this! I'm lying to her even though I _should_ be telling her the truth. But if I tell the truth, she'll be angry. And if she's angry, then she'll never talk to me again. I really don't want that! That cannot be allowed to happen.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"All right class. Pass in your drill and take out your homework." Mr. Benzinger smiled, causing the class to groan.

"But it's Monday!" A kid in the back groaned.

"Tough. Tristan; nope. Samantha; check. Jonathan; nope. Bobby; Only half-done? Joey; nope. Jane, well, you have an excuse."

"Excuse me, sir." Seto called. "You skipped me."

"You have your homework?" Mr. Benzinger gapped.

"Of course. It's just a essay." Seto shrugged as he showed his homework to the teacher. Changing the grade in his book, Mr. Benzinger shook his head and Joey leaned over to whisper to Seto.

"'Ey, Kaiba." Joey hissed. "Wha's da deal? Ya slack on homework all week an' suddenly star' doin' it? Ya 'ad a great record goin' dere."

"Shut up." Seto hissed back.

"Well? Wha' 'appened?" Joey pushed.

"Things…...... started to get better for me." Seto shrugged as he thought back to his talk with Tea.

__

'So why aren't you doing so well in school?' Tea asked.

'I just don't have time. I keep getting into fights with this one guy and I'll end up staying out the whole night because I'm so mad. You really can't write an essay on a street corner.'

'Why don't you just move out? Get a new place to stay?'

'Housing is hard to find in this city. You know that.'

'I suppose. So you just stay out all night and get in trouble because you're not doing you work?'

'That's about right.'

'Perhaps you should try apologizing to this guy…...... and may be swallow your pride once or twice.'

'Perhaps.'

'Well, remember you can always talk to me about your problems, right?'

'Right.'

AN: Chapter title by R.E.M.


	9. Time Is Ticking Out

Chapter 9: Time Is Ticking Out

Walking past the school, Tea gave it a quick look before continuing on. It was early march, the beginning of spring and nearing the end of her senior year. She wished she could say she was excited, however she couldn't help but realize that the end of school was also the end to a lot of other things. She'd have to start getting ready to enter whatever college she got into and perhaps…...... perhaps she would never dance with Ryu again. This thought had occurred to her earlier that day and plagued her ever since. What school was Ryu attending? What year was he in? Would he be leaving soon? 

Shaking off these thoughts, she opened the back door—well, it was really the front door, but since few people used it, it had become more of a back door—of the club, and walked into the bar area.

"Hello, Tea." Mai called, from her spot by the sink.

"Hey." Tea smiled, as she reached into the soapy water to help Mai clean the glasses. The washed glasses for a while, neither one talking, when Mai suddenly remembered.

"Oh, hey. I almost forgot. I talked to that friend of Ryu's for you."

"You mean Bakura?"

"Yea, him." Mai nodded, as he mind flipped over the previous night's events.

__

"Hey, what can I get you?" Valentine asked Bakura.

"How 'bout a beer and a boyfriend? I'm sick of women." Bakura sighed as he dropped his head onto the bar.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Bakura grumbled as he took the beer that she offered him and handed her the money.

"You know, Bakura, you seem to be pretty close with Ryu. Why don't you ask him to dance." 

"No way. That boy is as straight as you can be without being a homophobic-asshole."

"Really? I don't really know much about him. He sure can dance."

"That he can."

"Where'd he learn?"

"Ah, can't tell you that." Bakura smirked.

"And why not?" Valentine asked with a flirty smile, as she leaned over the bar so her nose almost touched Bakura's.

"If I did, then I'd have to kill you…......" Bakura smirked back. "And your boyfriend would be pissed."

"Huh?"

"Nice playing mind games with you, Valentine, but you better choose another person to pump for information." Bakura laughed before walking back into the crowd of dancers.

"Anyway, it didn't work out as I'd planned." Mai admitted. "I can't find a thing on your boy. Maybe it was my timing. Well, I did find out that he's straight."

"And I already knew that." Tea groaned. "I suppose I could ask him…...... but he'd probably just pretend like he didn't hear me."

"What do you know about him, anyway?"

"His name is Ryu. He's never left New York. He's attending an in-state college. He's got an older brother, but he's out of town. And that's about it."

"You really don't know much about him do you?"

"No. And it bothers me, even though I know he's not lying to me."

"Try asking is all I can say. It doesn't hurt."

"No, I suppose not. Say, Mai, what are you and Joey doing this summer?"

"Well, we're going to start—officially—dating."

"I thought you were."

"We were but once he turns eighteen, everything'll be legal." Mai laugh, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh…...... I really didn't need that." Tea moaned.

"Oh come on! I'm only five years older than him!"

"Please, can we change the subject?"

"Fine, what are you doing?"

"It depends on what college I get in to. I really want to go to Juliard for dance."

"Are you serious? Do you realize how hard that is to get into?"

"I know, I know." Tea sighed. "But I do have a back up school…...... in California."

"Whoa! Talk about a change in state." Mai joked.

"Very funny. Summer is coming up fast though."

"Well, enough about that." Mai said, quickly changing the subject. "Here, be a friend and unlock the door for me?"

"Who's on door watch tonight?"

"I am for the first half. James is working the bar tonight. He'll switch with me after midnight."

"Right." Tea nodded as she went to the door to unlock it. Before long the place was full of people and Tea went over to her usual corner to wait for Ryu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ryu!" Ryou called out as Seto turned the corner and walked into the alleyway near the club. "We need to talk."

"Uh, okay." Seto agreed as Ryou pulled him into a dark corner a few feet from the door to the bar. "What is it?"

"That friend of yours—Tea, was it? She's getting way too interested in you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's asking around about you. She even got Valentine to pump me for information."

"Huh?"

"Valentine asked me where you learned to dance."

"That's hardly pumping you for information. And how do you know Tea put her up to it?"

"Look, Valentine and Tea are close. And the question may have been innocent enough, but I could tell she wanted more answers."

"I still don't see how…......"

"Just be careful if you don't want people to know who you are, all right?" Ryou pressed.

"All right! All right! I'll be careful. Not that I've told Tea anything _true_ about myself." Seto muttered to himself as he walked down the alley and into the roaring club.

"Their relationship never ceases to amaze me." Ryou admitted as he hurried to catch up with Seto. Walking onto the dance floor of the club, the two parted; Seto to find Tea and Ryou to find a strong drink.

"Hey." Seto smiled when he finally found Tea. "What's wrong? You don't look too happy?"

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" Tea asked, turning to face him, though her eyes were still closed.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"It almost the end of the school year." Tea mentioned.

"So?"

"So, I'll be graduating soon. And I might be moving."

"Oh. So we might not meet each other again."

"Maybe." Tea admitted.

"Then let's enjoy the time we do have." Seto grinned.

"Yes." Tea smiled back. "But I have to go home early tonight."

"When? I'll keep an eye on the time for you."

"Eleven." Tea told him, before they were pulled into the dancing crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's eleven." Seto told Tea.

"What?" Tea asked, cupping a hand behind her ear in an effort to enhance her hearing.

"_It's eleven_!" Seto told her a bit louder.

"_Oh! Okay, thanks._" Tea nodded.

"_See you next week?_"

"_Next week._" Tea agreed, as she felt Seto remove his arm from around her waist and disappear into the crowd. Opening her eyes, she pushed her way out of the dancing crowd and marijuana and cigarette smoke. Grabbing her coat from behind the bar, She waved to Valentine and walked out of the club. She was almost to the end of the alleyway when a pair of arms reached out of a corner, covered her mouth and pulled her into the shadows.

AN: CLIFFHANGER!!! ^_^ 

AN2: Chapter title by The Cranberries.


	10. Criminal

Chapter 10: Criminal

"HELP!" Tea screamed as the hand tightened around her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist. She felt her body being dragged back against another body and was slightly relieved to realize her attacker was a woman.

'At least they won't rape me.' Tea told herself.

"Shut up, Bitch!" Another, female, voice hissed. "Just give us all your money. Now!"

Struggling against the other woman, Tea suddenly felt a hand smack her face.

"Bitch!" The voice hissed again. "It may just be me, my friend and you, bitch, but I'm fully prepared to beat your sorry ass. Now give us your money and we'll let you go with only a small beating!"

Kicking the girl restraining her, Tea waited till the hand had been removed from her mouth before letting out a scream.

"HELP!" Tea yelled. "Anyone, help me!"

The talker smacked Tea again and the other girl tightened her grip. Suddenly, Tea heard Ryu's voice coming towards her.

"Tea? Are you all right?" He asked, as he saw Tea's attackers. "Who are you two? What's going on?"

"Look buddy, just leave us alone and you don't get hurt." The girl holding Tea growled.

"Let her go!" He demanded.

"Go away!" The talker yelled as she swung at his face. Catching her fist, he pulled her over his hip and flipped her into a corner. Swinging his other leg around, he smashed it into the other girl's stomach, causing her to loosen her grip on Tea. Running over to his side, Tea grabbed his shirt and clung to him.

"Now go away before I have to beat you again." He threatened. There was the brief sound of running feet before he and Tea was alone. "Are you all right? I came out here to go home and heard you screaming."

"I'm fine, thanks to you, Ryu. It was just those two girls after my money." Tea whispered.

"Do you want me to walk you…...... home?" He asked softly.

"Would you?" Tea asked. She was glad he had asked, because she knew her air of calmness was only a mask and that inside she was shaking.

"Just lead the way." He bowed, causing Tea to giggle. They went on in silence for a few minutes, Tea, walking in the light of the street lamps, and her savior, just a few feet off, hiding in the shadows. They finally reached a large apartment complex and Tea stopped.

"Well. Here we are." Tea told him, before pointing to the tenth floor. "That's my apartment."

"I'm sure it's nice." He said, his voice coming from the shadows behind her.

"Do you want to come up?" Tea asked suddenly.

"No, I mean, I'd love to, but I can't." He stammered.

"I understand." Tea smiled.

"Maybe, but I doubt you could." He shrugged, thankful she hadn't recognized him or dragged him into the light. Suddenly, acting on impulse, he grabbed her shoulders, pulled her further into the shadows and kissed her on the lips. About to pull away, he felt Tea pressed her lips against his and deepened the kiss. After a minute, she pulled away and they stood there, quietly gasping for breath.

"See you next week, Ryu." Tea smiled before walking into her apartment building. Standing in the shadows, he watched as she got into the elevator and went up to her apartment.

Turning away, he walked down the street, mulling over his brief conversation with Tea.

'She still doesn't understand that's I am Seto? Why doesn't my voice tip her off? I could understand in the club because the music is so loud, but here? Perhaps it some sort of face-association thing. Well, as long as she doesn't figure it out…...... I might well have a bit of fun, ne?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you okay, though?" Yugi asked as he stood outside the door to his homeroom with Tea.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Tristan asked coming up behind Tea with Joey. Seto walked down the hall and shot Tea a glance before opening his locker.

"Tea was almost mugged Saturday night." Yugi explained.

"But I'm fine. A friend of mine, Ryu, saved me." Tea said quickly before anyone jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Ya shoul' be more careful." Joey told Tea, as she stepped out of the way to let Seto pass. "Why didntcha wait for me? I woul' 'ave walked ya home."

"I had to leave early." Tea shrugged as the first warning bell rang and everyone hurried off to his or her own homerooms. A bit over an hour later, Tea walked down the hallway to her second period class. Sitting down in her seat, she took out a pen and began working on her drill. A few seconds before the late bell, Seto walked in and took his seat next to her. Taking out his own pen, he began to write on his drill paper, which he pushed towards Tea a bit later. Glancing down at it, Tea saw that the drill was completed but he had also scribbled down a note to her.

'Are you ok?' Tea read, before scribbling down a response and pushing it back towards Seto. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

Seto quickly read her message before taking out another piece of paper and his homework. Folding the blank piece of paper in half, Seto quickly wrote a reply to Tea's question before shoving it at her.

'I heard you got mugged Sat.' Tea read. 

'From who?'

'Heard you and your friends talking.' 

'I'm fine. Ryu helped me.'

'Muggers don't grab people w/ other people.'

'I wasn't with him at first.'

'He's your stalker?'

'Ha. Ha. Ryu's my friend.'

'But he was just out late in your part of town?'

'We were at the same club.'

'Aren't you too young?'

'I know owner. Ryu's old enough.'

'So your stalker is an older male?'

'He's not a stalker!'

'Bet he's you met him at the club. Bet you don't know anything about him! Bet he's a criminal.'

'Shut up.' Tea wrote quickly and flashed the note at Seto. Grabbing the note away from his waiting hands, Tea torn the note into pieces and shoved them into her pocket as Ms. Young came into the room and began to teach.

AN: Chapter title by Eminem.


	11. Two Different Worlds

Chapter 11: Two Different Worlds

The dismissal bell rang and everyone jumped up and headed for the door. Walking down the hall, Seto saw Tea a few feet ahead of him and quickly caught up with her.

"Gardner." Seto nodded, without looking down at her.

"Kaiba." Tea replied, also without looking up at him.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? Going to see your stalker?" Seto teased as they walked down the front steps of the school together.

"Kaiba…......" Tea said before stopping in the middle of the street. Seto stopped too and looked back at her. Walking back in her direction, Seto almost laughed when he noticed the 'I-am-going-to-kill-you' look Tea was giving him. "Shut up."

"Fine, don't take my advice." Seto shrugged as he turned to walk away. "Just don't blame me if he turns out to be some homicidal maniac or serial criminal. Can't trust anyone these days, especially people you don't know very well."

"Kaiba!" Tea yelled in frustration as she ran to catch up with him. Pushing her way through the sea of pedestrians, She finally ran up to his side and began to walk with him. "Why are you being so rude and mean to Ryu? You don't know a single thing about him, so you really can't be talking."

"Ah! But you don't know anything about this Ryu, either! You're too trusting Gardner."

"I know more than you! Speaking of which, you're being a hypocrite! You accuse me of having too much confidence in people but here you are, trusting me enough to walk and talk with me, while the only thing you know about me is my name! Aren't you scared I'm going to jump and kill you any second now?"

"You? Jump me? Dream on." Seto sniffed. "Anyway, you're the one going around defending your stalker."

"HE'S NOT A STALKER!" Tea shouted. "He's my friend."

"Fine, so he's not your stalker. I still have my money on him being some sort of criminal." Seto shrugged, as he walked into the lobby of an office building.

"Uh, where are we exactly?" Tea asked softly as she looked around the large room.

"SETO!" A little voice screamed and a black fuzzball shot out of the elevator and rammed into Seto's stomach.

"Mokuba!" Seto groaned. "I thought you were sick."

"I was, but I spent about three hours up-chucking in the staff bathrooms and felt loads better."

"That was seriously way too much information, little brother." Seto laughed as he picked himself up off the floor and ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Where's the meeting going to be held?"

"It's going to be the Gozaburo conference room." Mokuba shrugged. "But you are a bit early. Even dad's not ready for the conference."

"Well, I'd best change my clothes anyway. Did mom…......"

"Mom brought your suit." Mokuba nodded, giggling slightly.

"Shut up. I don't like the suit either. Oh, excuse me. Gardner, this is Mokuba, my brother. Mokuba, this is Tea Gardner, a fellow student." Seto quickly introduced the two before turning to face Mokuba. "Mokuba, I have to go change now. Could you help me out and please take Gardner to one of the secretaries?" 

"Ooooohh." Mokuba laughed. "Is she your kanojo?"

"What?!" Seto asked, before narrowing his eyes. "Mokuba! You little pervert!" 

Laughing Mokuba ran off a safe distance to wait for Tea to follow him. Seto continued to glare at Mokuba for a minute before turning back to face a very confused Tea.

"Tell one of the secretary where you live and they will give you directions from here." Seto explained, before turning to leave. He began to walk over to the elevators, when he suddenly let out a small laugh and called over his shoulder, "And watch out for stalkers on your way home. I hear they're out in full force on Fridays."

"He's a friend!" Tea screamed after Seto as the elevator doors closed behind him.

"Excuse me, Ms. Gardner?" Mokuba asked, tugging on Tea's shirt. "Follow me?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey." Seto whispered in Tea's ear. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay." Tea smiled, before finding his face and giving his a quick kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?"

"For saving me last week. I thought I'd be grateful, even if some people I know doubt your motives."

"Really? And who might these people be? A boyfriend? Concerned parents?" Seto asked as he guided her to an relatively deserted area where they could stand and talk without running the risk of being trampled.

"It's just some bastard from school who's going around saying things."

"Oh really? And what does this bastard say?"

"That you're a stalker…...... or a criminal. Silly, isn't it?"

"So your friend is worried that I'm a lawbreaker?" Seto asked before laughing. "That's rather funny. I've never been mistaken for a delinquent before."

"I never said he was a friend. He doesn't know you like I do, Ryu."

'If only you _really_ knew Tea.' Seto thought to himself, before replying, "So tell me about this so-called bastard."

"Oh, he's the new boy at school, so I don't know much about him. I mean, sometimes he's really nice…...... like when he's with his brother. But whenever he's at school he's so rude. He's really smart though."

"What's his name?"

"Seto."

"Is he rude to everyone?"

"No…...... not really. He doesn't really talk to anyone more than necessary, but he seems to go out of his way to be rude to me."

"Maybe he just to shy to talk to you like a normal person. Or maybe he's a criminal himself. What I'd like to know why he thinks he can accuse me of being a criminal, when he doesn't know me." Seto smirked, mentally laughing at the irony of the situation. "OH! Good song. Let's dance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kaiba!" Tea shouted.

"Gardner." Seto nodded in reply as he handed the clerk a five. "Can I add a—what would you like, Gardner?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm fine."

"Okay, never mind." Seto told the clerk. "I'll just take my black coffee."

"What are you doing here?" Tea asked, when Seto had his change.

"Are you blind, Gardner? I'm getting coffee. I was sure that even someone with limited intelligence, like yourself, could perceive this. Now, are you sure you don't want any?"

"I'm sure. And I meant out here in Times Square on the weekend."

"Working. By the way, have you seen your criminal friend today? I keep wondering if the next mugger I see will be him."

"I saw him yesterday actually." Tea snapped, ignoring Seto's last comment. "And we talked about you."

"Really? What'd he say?"

"He wanted to know who you thought you were. And he rejected you accusation that he might be a criminal. In fact, he found it quite amusing."

"Ah, only a true criminal could laugh at the such an accusation." Seto sneered. "Maybe you should check through mug shots for his face."

"Actually," Tea admitted. "I don't know what he looks like."

"Why not? Are you truly blind?"

"No. The club is too dark and he asked me to keep my eyes closed when he's around."

"Suspicious if you ask me. I'd be asking him what he has to hide." Seto shrugged before waling off in the direction of KaibaCorp. Once he was out of sight, Seto groaned.

"I can't believe I just told her I was suspicious. I mean, not that I'm not. Hell, I am! But she's going to find out soon enough. I can't believe I've managed this stunt for almost a year! And damn, I'm really starting to like her. So why am I tempting fate?" Seto muttered. "I should tell her. But she'd be mad. Not only did I lie to her, but also I'm playing with her. Not good, Seto. But I should still tell her. She deserves to know. All right. I'll tell her tonight."

But that night came and went, and Seto never told Tea the truth. So he decided that he would tell Tea the next week, but it also passed with Tea unaware that Seto and Ryu were the same person. Each week passed with Seto determined to tell Tea the truth and never getting around to it.

Kanojo – Girlfriend; Sweetheart

AN: Chapter title by LL Cool J.


	12. Rain

AN: This is my first song fic. Well, actually a song chapter really. I've looked into quite a few and I've noticed that a lot of song fics are depressing. This chapter is no exception. Oh, and I also know that 'Rain' from the show Cowboy Bebop is used quite often, but I'm using it too. It's a pretty song and I really like it. It also fits rather well.

By the way, its also done in first person, from Seto's POV.

Chapter 12: Rain

__

~I don't feel a thing~

~and I stopped remembering~

~The days are just like moments turned to hours~

I seriously think time has stopped. I can't speak. I can't breath. I can't apologize. I can't even think in English! All I can do is stare at her in horror and shock, with my mouth hanging open. I try to think of the right words to say, but nothing is coming to me. Just a few words in Japanese.

"Gomen Nasai." I whisper before I let my instincts take over and I'm running. I'm running past the druggies, past the drunks, past the DJ and into the dancing crowd. Pushing past people, I pull on my coat and head out the door headless of the rain. All I know is that I need to get out of here…...... and Tea isn't trying to stop me.

__

~Mother used to say~

~If you want, you'll find a way~

~Bet mother never danced through fire shower~

~Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain~

~I walk in the rain, in the rain~

~Is it right or is it wrong~

~And is it here that I belong~

A flash of lightning lights up the sky and illuminates the rain for a second. I've been running blindly through the street for the past ten minutes but I can't stop. I can barely see a thing through the rain, but I know the way home well enough, and the occasional flashes of lightning brighten up my path. Every step I take splashes water onto my pants and coat. The water is everywhere. It's soaking through my pants, through my coat, through my shirt, into my shoes and socks but I don't care and, even if I did, I can't stop running. All I can do is run, though it pains my lungs and throat and feet. It's all I can think of to do. It's all I want to do.

__

~I don't hear a sound~

~Silent faces in the ground~

~The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen~

I close my eyes and try to shut out the screaming inside my head.

'I won't listen to you! I won't! I won't!' I tell it, as my eyes well up with tears. Tears of anger and frustration; tears of shame and self-loathing.

'Stupid crybaby! Wimp! Did you think she wouldn't find out? Baka! Stupid fool! You should have told her! Don't bullshit yourself. You were never going to tell her, were you? You're just a coward! A spineless, gutless coward! You were too scared to tell her the truth…...... but now she knows. And guess what?! She hates you!'

I feel the tears overflow and stream down my cheeks and mix with the rainwater that's dripping off my streaked hair, carrying the black dye onto my face. Wiping the tears and rain away, I try to crush the voice in my head, but it keeps yelling at me.

'She hates you! She hates you! She hates you! She hates you! She hates you! She hates you!'

And I keep on crying in fury and frustration.

__

~If there is a hell~

~I'm sure this is how it smells~

~Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't~

~~~Flashback~~~

Hurrying down the alley, I pull the collar on my coat up to protect my neck from the rain. The rain, which had been present the entire weekend, had only recently turned into a thunderstorm, prompting me to wear my trench coat to the club. Walking into the club, I pull off my coat and shake a little of the water off it before folding it slightly and draping it over my arm. As usual, Tea is already waiting for me.

"Hey." I whisper in her ear.

"Hey. Is it still storming outside?"

"Yea. Raining cats and dogs. Well, April showers bring May flowers, I suppose."

"I know. It's also good or Valentine would have turned on the generators for no reason."

"The generators?"

"They power the sound system and exit-signs in case of a blackout." Tea told me.

"Oh." I nodded. It was probably very prudent of our bar tender as a sudden power outage could spark mass panic and cause several deaths. "Well. Shall we dance?"

"Why not?" She smiled at me as she dropped her arms around my neck and began to move in time with the music. The DJ was exceptionally good and we kept going for a while before there was a sudden break from the music. There was a couple seconds of muddled confusion before the DJ came on the microphone to reassure us that it was just a power outage but the music would be back on it a matter of seconds. Which it was. 

"It's so dark in here." I muttered. "You can barely see anything with only the exit signs lit. Care to open your eyes?"

"Don't mind if I do." Tea laughed slightly. I smiled she'd begun to take my odd request—that she keep her eyes closed—better and now she seemed to do it without thinking. The DJ put on a slow song for a couples dance and Tea turned around to face me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, She allowed me to do the same as we danced slowly to the music.

"Ryu?" She asked, as she looked up at me. Looking down to ask what the question was, I blinked as all the lights in the club suddenly came on as the power outage ended. Pulling away sharply, she didn't seem to notice the other people around us as she stared into my eyes.

"Seto?" She asked her voice heavy with betrayal and dismay.

~~~End Flashback~~~

__

~Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain~

~I walk in the rain, in the rain~

~Am I right or am I wrong~

~And is it here that I belong~

~Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain~

~I walk in the rain, in the rain~

~Why do I feel so alone~

~For some reason I think of home~

I look up from the street and notice that I finally made it to my apartment building. I fling open the doors and hurry past the guards at the front desk, but I throw my wallet at them. I don't have time for an ID check. Deciding against the elevator, I run up the stairs even though my lungs, legs and throat burn and keep threatening to give out on me. I make it my floor and grope for the doorknob, but I can't get a firm grip on it. I finally manage to twist it enough to let me in and I fall inside my apartment. Grabbing the end table near the door, I manage to barely support myself.

"Seto?" I hear Mokuba ask and I look up. He's standing at the door to the living room—he must have been listening to a CD from Japan because I can still here it playing in the background. I let out a little cough and finally notice that he's staring at me like I'm bleeding to death. There's a mirror across the hall and I glance into it. I do look horrible, I realize. My shirt, coat, pants and shoes are oozing water and every inch of cloth is sticking to my skin, but the worst is my hair and face. The black dye I'd quickly sprayed in earlier is running down my face because of the rain hitting it. The worst is that when I rubbed the tears away, I'd smeared the black coloring everywhere. I wipe away my newest tears and watch as the dye coats my eye lids. 

"Seto, are you alright?" Mokuba asks and I return my gaze to him. I try to consider the possible answers I could give him but I still can't seem think. Instead, I simply shake my head.

"No." I manage, deciding to go with the truth. I'm sick of lies for the moment. "I'm not alright."

Stumbling past him, I go over to the bathroom and close the door behind me. I need a long shower.

Gomen Nasai – I'm very sorry


	13. Crying Girl

Chapter 13: Crying Girl 

Walking down the hall, Seto looked around the corner and saw Tea standing outside his homeroom with her friends.

"Shit." Seto groaned. "I can't got in there. Not with her standing right outside. She'll eat me alive!"

He stood there for a minute, waiting and praying she would leave. No such luck. After a few minutes, it was clear Tea was not moving anytime soon. So, gathering his courage, which was, at the moment, limited, Seto said a final prayer, turned the corner and walked towards his homeroom with his eyes focused directly in front of him. Mumbling a careless 'excuse me' to Joey as he brushed past the group, Seto entered the classroom, desperately trying to ignore the seething glare Tea was sending him. Fortunately, for him, the first warning bell rang and Tea was forced to dash off to her own homeroom to avoid being late.

Hurrying down the hall, Tea turned to look over her shoulder when Joey shouted for her to wait up.

"'Ey." Joey smiled. "Wha' 'appened wid ya an' Kaiba? Ya seemed pissed at 'im."

"Nothing happened." Tea lied quickly.

"O, so da death glares 're normal? 'Ome on, I'm ya friend, ain't I?"

"Yea, you are. It's just not important, is all."

"An'?"

"He just isn't who I thought he was."

"'Ell, if you ever wanta 'ell 'omeone da truth, you've got me ta talk wid." Joey smiled before racing off to homeroom. 

"That's what he said too." Tea sighed before continuing her walk to homeroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the end of the week and Tea was walking home alone, but she didn't really mind. She needed some space to pull herself together anyway. The past five days had been absolutely horrible. She and Seto had avoided each other like the plague the entire time and Seto had even gone as far as to have his seat changed in European History. Actually, she couldn't blame him for that one, because if he hadn't done it she probably would have.

Letting out a sigh, Tea turned the corner and walked into the lobby of her apartment complex. She took the elevator to the tenth floor and spent a couple seconds, fishing around for her house key, which kept falling to the bottom of her purse. She finally managed to find it and, upon opening the door, found a note from her parents waiting for her. Crumpling the note up, Tea tossed the sheet of paper over her shoulder; she already knew what it was going to say. She turned on the television and lay down on the couch to think.

"I'm not sure why I'm so angry." Tea told the ceiling. "If he had been Joey or maybe Yugi, even though Yugi doesn't seem the type to go to dance clubs, I wouldn't be so mad. In fact, I'd probably laugh it off. But when Seto Kaiba pulls this stunt, I'm angry! Lord I'm nuts!"

Letting out a deep sigh, Tea tried to understand why she wanted to hurt Seto, but she couldn't. So she did the next best thing; she called Mai.

"Hello?" Mai asked, picking the phone up on the third ring.

"Hey, Mai. This is Tea. Have you got a minute?"

"Well, Joey said he'd pick me up in ten minutes, but he called from the shop, so I've got plenty of time. What's up?"

"I'm not sure. See, I'm sort of angry at this one guy but I'm not sure why." Tea explained and waited for Mai to reply.

"Perhaps," Mai began after thinking for a moment. "You'd better tell me exactly what happened."

"Oh, Mai!" Tea exclaimed, before breaking down into tears. "It was horrible!"

"It's okay, Tea." Mai reassured her friend. "Look, I only live a block away, so I'm going to hang up and go over to see you. We can talk then. Just hang on!"

"Okay." Tea nodded, still crying. Tea heard a click on the other end of the line and, ten minutes later, Mai was walking through Tea's front door. Wrapping her arm around Tea's shoulders, Mai handed the crying girl a handkerchief and told her to relax.

"So, what happened?"

"Do…...... do you r-re-remember this Saturday?" Tea hiccuped, while blotting her eyes.

"Yea." Mai nodded, before helping Tea up and leading her into the kitchen. Plugging in the kettle, Mai hunted through the cupboards for two mugs and some hot chocolate mix. "Is this something that happened at the club?"

Tea nodded and opened the cupboard where the mugs and drink mixes were.

"Is this about Ryu?" Mai asked as she measured out the chocolate mix and dumped a bit of extra into Tea's. Tea nodded again.

"Did he hit you?" Mai asked, turning around to face her friend. Tea shook her head.

"He doesn't exist." Tea managed before she started to sniffle again. Mai poured the water into the mugs, stirred the drinks and gave Tea her mug.

"Of course he exists, girl. We both saw him."

"No. He doesn't!" Tea insisted. "He lied to me."

"I'm not following, Tea."

"I found out I know him. Ryu is Seto Kaiba." Tea explained. "And I'm so mad at him! All those months, I thought they were two different people, and he knew I though that! He knew and he never bothered to tell me! He lied to me! But I'm not sure why I hate him so much for that."

"Maybe because he didn't just lie to you. You feel betrayed, right? You're hurt…...... because you really did care for him." Mai explained and Tea nodded.

"And I still care for him!" Tea admitted. "Oh, Mai. I'm scared I love him."

"And now you're confused as to who you fell in love with?"

"And I'm scared he'll lie to me again. I'm not sure I can trust him! He said he'd never lie to me, but everything Ryu told was a lie! My entire relationship with Ryu was built on just that! A lie! But Ryu said he loved me and…...... what if that was also a lie? Did he really like me, or was I just a game for him?"

"How did Seto act this week?" Mai asked suddenly.

"He wouldn't talk to me, and he's been skipping a lot of classes and he isn't doing his homework anymore, either." Tea shrugged. She may have been angry with Seto, but that just meant that she had started to watch him _very_ closely.

"That's good." Mai nodded. "If you were just a game for him, then he'd be acting normally, even rudely, to you. Tea, I'm sure he's just as upset about this as you are. You should talk with him."

"But Mai, he never even said he was sorry*." Tea moaned. "It just…...... hurts."

"I know. I know. Why don't you come to the club tonight? If he's there, you can talk. If he's not, well, it's better to party than to mope around all day."

"Okay." Tea nodded after a moment of thought. "I'll come."

*AN: Remember, Tea doesn't speak Japanese!

AN: Chapter title by Westlife


	14. Pushing me Away

AN: Yet another song chapter by me. Well, this isn't really a song chapter, but it sort of is…...... Nevermind.

Chapter 14: Pushing me away

"Seto?" Ms. Kaiba called after knocking on Seto's door. "Time for dinner."

"No, thank you." Seto mumbled into his pillow. There was a brief silence before Seto rolled over onto his back so he wouldn't suffocate, and Ms. Kaiba opened the door a crack so she could look in on her adopted son.

"It's Chinese take-out." She offered with a slight smile, which was lost on Seto who had just closed his eyes.

"I said, '_no_, thank you'." Seto stated, stressing the 'no' more resolutely.

"Seto…......" Ms. Kaiba began, as she moved to come in the room.

"WHAT PART OF 'NO' DON'T YOU GET? IT'S NOT LIKE I'M FUCKING SPEAKING JAPANESE!" Seto roared, as he quickly sat up and glared at her harshly. There was a split second face off, before Ms. Kaiba closed the door quietly and Seto flopped back down onto the bed. Waiting another minute in silence, Seto heard his adopted mother sigh and walk away. Lifting himself up from his bed, Seto stumbled over to his stereo and smacked the play button, turning on the radio. No good. Turning off the radio, Seto opened the CD player and slipped in the first CD he touched. Linkin Park. Pressing the 'random play' button, Seto flopped back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Closing his eyes after a second, Seto listened as his stereo, which was on volume 10, blasted a bit of music, followed by a section of loud guitar music. 'Track 12.' Seto quickly concluded. As the song played, pictures began to form in Seto's mind. Pictures and memories. 

__

~I've lied to you~  
~The same way that I always do~

"Why are you being so rude and mean to Ryu? You don't know a single thing about him, so you really can't be talking."

__

  
~This is the last smile~  
~That I'll fake for the sake of being with you~  
  
~Everything falls apart, even the people who never frown eventually break down~  
~The sacrifice of hiding in a lie~  
~Everything has to end, you'll soon find we're out of time left to watch it all unwind~  
~The sacrifice is never knowing~

"Ryu?" She asked, as she looked up at me. Looking down to ask what the question was, I blinked as all the lights in the club suddenly came on as the power outage ended. Pulling away sharply, she didn't seem to notice the other people around us as she stared into my eyes.

"Seto?" She asked her voice heavy with betrayal and dismay.

  


__

~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~

~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~  
  
~I've tried like you~  
~To do everything you wanted too~  
~This is the last time~  
~I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you~  


"The answer is 1066, and you shouldn't send Gardner out since she was telling me to shut up."

"Really? Then perhaps you would like to leave?"

"As you said, I obviously don't need to be here, since I can afford to talk." I shrugged before grabbing my backpack and leaving the class.

__

  
~Everything falls apart, even the people who never frown eventually break down~  
~The sacrifice of hiding in a lie~  
~Everything has to end, you'll soon find we're out of time left to watch it all unwind~  
~The sacrifice is never knowing~  


"Yes. It's just me and my older brother. He's 24, well, almost 25."

"What's his name?"

"Haruko."

__

~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~

~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~

~We're all out of time, this is how we find how it all unwinds~  
~The sacrifice of hiding in a lie~  
~We're all out of time, this is how we find how it all unwinds~  
~The sacrifice is never knowing~  


"You must be new here."

"H-how can you tell?"

"I've been watching you. You got a name?"

"Tea. And you?" Tea asked.

"Ryu."

__

  
~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~

~Why I never walked away~  
~Why I played myself this way~  
~Now I see your testing me pushes me away~

  
~Pushes me away…~

~Pushes me away…~

I flinched as I felt her piercing gaze bore holes in my back.

"Excuse me, Ms. Young? Could it be possible to move my seat? I can't see the blackboard from my current place and…......"

Screaming in rage, Seto jumped to his feet and ripped the CD out of his Stereo and, after quickly shoving it into its case, threw it out the open window. Slumping his shoulders, Seto rested his head against the window frame and closed his eyes. It was almost seven. Two weeks ago he would have been gulping down his dinner so he could hurry up and get ready. That was two weeks ago. This was now.

"Seto?" Mokuba called from the other side of the door, before entering. "Seto, what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing for you to worry about, Mokuba." Seto told his brother with a dismissive nod.

"But Seto…......"

"It's okay, Mokuba." Seto declared, with a glare.

"All right." Mokuba nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shoving her way through the crowd, Tea walked over to Bakura who was sitting at the bar flirting with another guy. Tapping him on the shoulder, Tea waited for him to look at her.

"Do you know where Seto is?" She asked, when he finally turned his attention towards her.

"Seto?" Bakura repeated blankly, though Tea could tell it was an act. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like telling him to stow it, so she decided to play along.

"Ryu?"

"Haven't seen him." Bakura shrugged. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Tea lied as she waved to Mai and left by the street entrance.

'Why didn't you come, Seto?' Tea asked silently.

AN: Chapter title by Linkin Park.


	15. Starting Over

AN: This is the final chapter! This is the end!

Chapter 15: Starting Over

"Hello?" Mokuba asked cautiously, as he answered the door. His adopted parents were still at work and with his older brother as he was, Mokuba was practically alone. Looking up at the face of his visitor, Mokuba relaxed immediately. "Oh, hey Ryou."

"Hey, Mokuba." Ryou smiled. "Is your brother here?"

"Uh…......" Mokuba frowned, thinking over his answer carefully. "Sort of."

"Huh?"

"I mean, physically he's sitting in his room, but mentally? He's _gone_."

"Oh. So he's in his room then? May I speak with him?"

"Sure but good luck getting him to respond to you though. He's been on autopilot for almost three weeks. All he does is go to school and listen to music. He barely eats or showers! In fact I can't remember the last time he slept and I share a room with him."

"Oh. I see." Ryou frowned as he followed Mokuba to Seto and Mokuba's room.

"Seto? Ryou's here." Mokuba called as he knocked on the door. No answer. Pushing the door open, Ryou stepped past Mokuba and closed the door in the little boy's face. Turning around, Ryou sighed as he looked at Seto, who was sitting by the window, looking down at the street.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the club?" Seto asked without moving his forehead from it's resting place against the glass.

"Shouldn't you? It is Friday evening after all."

"Is it? I'd lost track of what day it was."

"So I see. Anyway, I came to see you because I haven't seen you in the club for about a month now. Everyone wants to know where you are."

"I'll bet." Seto snorted, as if to say he highly doubted Ryou's words.

"Why haven't you been around?"

"No reason. Just felt like being by myself."

"Seto, has anyone ever told you, you suck at lying?"

"It's not a lie!" Seto growled. "It's just not…......"

"The whole truth? Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you mind if I guess?"

"No one's stopping you, though I doubt you would understand."

"Then let me guess. Hum, are you worried about school?" Ryou guess, watching Seto's back closely. No reaction.

"College?" Still nothing.

"Mokuba?" Nothing again.

"Tea?" Seto's back stiffened slightly. 'Bingo.' Ryou laughed to himself.

"Did she break up with you?" Nothing, but Seto's back didn't relax.

"Ah, I see. She found out."

"Yes." Seto whispered, as if his mind was deep in his memories. "It was horrible. One second I was Ryu and then she looked at me…...... and the lights came on."

"You knew she would find out one day." Ryou shrugged, as he flopped down on Seto's bed and rested his back against the wall.

"I know. I even planned to tell her myself. But I kept wanting just another day."

"So your days ran out." Ryou smiled faintly. "No big deal."

"No big deal?" Seto ragged, finally turning around to face Ryou. "No big deal?"

"Yes. No big deal. You will find another girl." Ryou laughed, before closing his eyes. "You've never had a problem with that."

"I don't want another girl. I want Tea. Don't you understand? I'm sick and tired of people liking me for my money or my name. And then I finally found someone who liked me for who I was and not who my parents are or how much money I've got. But I…......" Seto trailed off with a frown.

"You lost her." Ryou finished. "So apologize."

"Didn't you hear? I lost her! No more 'getting her back'. No more chances! I screwed up, I know that, but now it's too late to do anything." Seto cringed at the harsh reality of his own words. Letting out a sigh, Seto turned back to the window, sat down on the sill and looked down at the street again. "Why do you think I avoid her at school? Why do you think I had my seat changed in AP history? I don't want to leave myself open anymore. She hates me, but there's no reason to give her an free opportunity to laugh at me or hurt me as I've hurt her."

"So you will not even try to save this? Even though you need her?" Ryou asked in surprise, his eyes opening. Nodding slowly, Seto showed that he had given up.

Sitting up sharply, Ryou grabbed the first thing he could grab and chucked it at Seto's head. Hitting Seto in the middle of his back, the pillow fell to the floor and Seto turned to look at his 'attacker', a mixture of shock and surprise showing in his eyes.

"Baka." Ryou snarled. "Baka. _Baka_. **_BAKA_**! You're being so stupid I want to throw up! Here you are, yearning away for her, but doing nothing because you are a coward! You're just an irrational coward, Seto Kaiba! But do you want to know something? She comes to the club at the regular time every week, no matter what! And she doesn't dance with anyone but if you ask to dance with you, she tells you she's waiting for someone. Go ahead. Figure it out, Seto. Be the bloody genius everyone says you are! Who is she waiting for?"

Clenching his fists at his sides, Ryou stalked out of the apartment, leaving Seto behind to brood over his cross words. After a second of staring at the bed, Seto slid off the windowsill and onto the floor.

"She's waiting for me?" He whispered.

"Seto?" Mokuba asked, sticking his head in the room. "Is everything all right?"

Looking up at his brother, Seto blinked, trying to understand what had just happened.

"I'm not really sure, Mokuba." Seto whispered. "I'm just not sure."

The two brothers looked at each other in silence, before Seto patted the floor next to him and motioned for Mokuba to join him. Sitting down, Mokuba looked up at his older brother and waited.

"Mokuba…...... what do you think I should do?"

"Is this about Miss Gardner, your kanojo?"

"Yes." Seto nodded, not bothering to correct Mokuba for his assumption or language choice.

"I like her. She's very nice and kind."

"So? It could be an act."

"Must girls drop the act around me. Miss Gardner was even more polite around me."

"So, what should I do?"

"Apologize." Mokuba shrugged. "Is a life of pain and wishing worth a bit of pride and dignity now?"

Seto looked down at his little brother for a minute, before nodding.

"When did you get so smart?" Seto laughed, giving his brother a one armed hug.

"Since I had to start thinking for both of us."

"Have I been that stupid so long?"

"Most of the year."

"I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you." Seto vowed, before jumping to his feet and hurrying to the door and grabbing his trench coat from a peg by the door. Mokuba listened for a second, and let out a sigh as the front door clicked shut. Suddenly, it banged open and Mokuba jerked in surprise as Seto stuck his head back in the room. "I promise you, Mokuba."

Looking over at his brother, Mokuba's face broke into a grin and he nodded.

"I'll hold you to that." Mokuba laughed and Seto smiled back before hurrying out of the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is he?" Tea asked herself, before dropping her head onto the bar. "It's been a whole month…...... and he still hasn't talked to me or even looked at me. Does he hate me?!"

"Will you relax?" Valentine asked, before tossing Tea a Pepsi. "If he hates you he's a certified jerk—since it is all his fault—and therefore, not worth your time."

"If you say so. I'm going to go in our corner."

"Fine." Valentine nodded. She watched her friend walk over to the corner and let out a groan. A month—an entire month!—of watching her friend kill herself over a self-centered jerk was killing Valentine.

'That's it, no more. If he isn't here by tomorrow I'm going to hunt him down and find him. And there shall be blood!' Valentine decided as Seto ran through the entrance. He ran over to the bar and opened his mouth to speak, but Valentine was too quick.

"She's in your corner." Valentine said, jerking her head in the direction Tea had gone. Quickly nodding his thanks, Seto hurried after Tea. Softly walking up behind Tea, Seto took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. Leaning closer, he placed his chin on her shoulder and nudged her ear with his nose.

"You must be new here." Seto whispered. Turning around, Tea's shocked expression was replaced by a large smile…...... and Seto discovered he liked making Tea smile.

Kanojo- Girlfriend (AN: see 'Chapter 11: Two Different Worlds' for original usage and Mokuba's reasoning)

Baka! - Fool!

AN: The title is by John Lennon.

AN2: Love it? Hate it? Send out the angry, pitchfork waving, French mob out to burn it? Throw the computer out the window and commit myself to the penitentiary cause this story should be illegal? Review and tell me what you think (or thought). If you hate it let me know and tell me why! (I'll try and fix it! I promise!) If you like it, tell me and I'll pursue my idea for a sequel. R/R! Thanks!


	16. AUTHORS NOTE READ

AUTHORS NOTE!  
  
Hello all! Thanks for reading 'Ryu' but, sadly, it is finished. I've begun a sequel and I've even posted a few chapters. It's called 'What you have' and you can find it, if you're really interested, by looking at my profile.  
  
I would post a link, but obviously FF.net hates me. Sorry. ^_^;;  
  
Thanks!  
  
~~NightsClaws~~ 


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